Tag Archives: richelle mead

I voraciously consumed the Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead. Meaning when I came across the Dark Swan books, I was instantly intrigued. Storm Born was an easy read with another kick-ass female protagonist – a shaman named Eugenie Markham. However, the tone of this series seemed far more serious than a succubus demon with romance problems. Nevertheless, I delved into the second book, Thorn Queen with no expectations.

In the first book, Eugenie discovers her father was the brutal, all powerful Storm King. A prophecy foretells she will deliver a male heir who will rule both the human dimension and the Otherworld. Thus, she must continually fight off creatures trying to impregnate her by any means necessary (i.e. rape). None of the supernaturals seem to have heard of birth control, which could totally throw a wrench in the works. Eugenie simply decides to never have kids and stay vigilant with her pill. Voila. Apocalypse averted. [small spoiler] At the climax of this first book, when Eugenie defeats an evil king, she inherits a kingdom in the Otherworld that is physically and emotionally tied to her, even when she’s crossed over by to the human world. This means she immediately and at no warning from her sexy OtherWorld tutor/ally King Dorian transforms the lush land into a desert. Almost a near replica of her Tuczon, AZ home in the human world.

At the start of Thorn Queen Eugenie doesn’t want to be Queen of anything. She is afraid of the strong storm magic from her evil father who liked to murder people with lightening for fun. She rather keep her that part of her locked away, content with her semi-uneventful shamanistic existence. But she can’t give up her kingdom that easy. If she’s in the human world too long, the land literally suffers without her – a fierce drought has taken hold of the land and the fae have no irrigation systems. She takes pity on them and is eventually talked into harnessing some power to call rain for crops. Too bad, she’s pretty shit at it. Raw storms with killing lightening come natural, but seasonal rain not so much.

She calls again upon Dorian for help, who says in not so many worlds he still wants to bang her, but only willingly. And she’ll thank him for it. Talk about sure of yourself. In the end, since he likes her and is such a nice guy, he agrees to help her with no strings attached. Eugenie still suspicious demands a female teacher this time around since things got a little hot and heavy last time. So Dorian offers to lend his number 1 mistress to teach her magic. And let me tell ya, that lady is NOT pleased. Eugenie is offended but decides to get in a few quickie sessions. The plan is to learn air and water magic, call some rain, abdicate that throne and get the hell out of dodge. Leaving behind the temptation for power (and sex from Dorian) in the Otherworld. In the human world, she lives with her veterinarian/shapeshifting fox boyfriend who just moved in with her. However, even that situation is a bit of a pickle. His ex-girlfriend Faery queen is having his baby back in the Otherworld. These fae don’t get pregnant often and consider babymaking a dying art.

In summary, this Eugenie gal has to contend with a new kingdom, powerful seductive magic, hot Dorian, also hot boyfriend, potential supernatural rapists and figuring how to give up said kingdom. Throw in a mystery of disappearing girls and we got shitload of subplots going on in this book. Mead surprisingly juggles all these stakes quite well. I was way more engaged than with the first book. Instead of being afraid of the Otherworld, Eugenie feels a motherly allegiance for her kingdom especially when she learns innocent girls are being kidnapped. And with the prophecy, there is this undercurrent of anxiety with her every move. She could be seduced by her own power and embrace that dark prophecy at any moment. We do see a glimpse of her power, but of course we must wait until book 3 to see how it all unfolds.

A few spoiler-free reviews on goodreads have me quite apprehensive about the last book saying it took a horrible near offensive turn. So naturally, I’m curious for Iron Crowned but not sure I’m up for a character sabotage. Definitely at the bottom of my library wishlist.

My book reviews are written as a discussion of a book, and not as an advertisement. Please be aware that there may be information that some would consider spoilers. Continue on at your own risk!

I was very impressed with Gameboard of the Gods and I was hoping that the rest of Richelle Mead’s adult books are just as good. Storm Born is the first in a set of 4 books that I bought as a bundle (The Dark Swan series). I’m happy to see that it ends at 4 (at least for now) because I’m feeling a little tired of series that have gone on so long that there is no longer an original story to tell (I’m not mentioning any names here!) Did Storm Born live up to the bar that Gameboards set? Here is what I thought….

My book reviews are written as a discussion of a book, and not as an advertisement. Please be aware that there may be information that some would consider spoilers. Continue on at your own risk!

After blowing through 41 books in the first half of the year, it has taken me a few weeks to get through my last two books. Tarnished and Torn was just bad. And just in case you don’t do the jump to read the review of this book, I will say Gameboard of the Gods was fantastic (please please please god of books make the sequel just as good!). I have been super busy preparing to downsize, sell my house and move, and still found time to pick up this book. Here is what I thought….

The second book in the Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead takes the foundation of Succubus Blues and builds a strong and confident urban fantasy novel out of something far more labored and predictable. Mead avoids overplaying her hand by layering several plotlines together to disguise the various clues that add up to a very fun and rewarding read.

Georgina Kincaid, a succubus indebted to the forces of hell, is torn between her love for the mortal author Seth Mortensen and her duty and powers as a succubus. If she makes any intimate contact with the man she loves, she’ll sap away his lifespan and send him on the path to eternal damnation. If she tells him everything about her renewed efforts to condemn more souls, she might lose him forever. Of course this becomes a serious issue when her friends and coworkers begin to act irrationally and with heightened abilities. That’s also when the incubus she trained, Bastien, walks back into her life asking for help in the biggest target either has corrupted in centuries.

Richelle Mead improves upon the already enjoyable voice of Georgina Kincaid. The backstory–a succubus alive for over two millenia–allows Georgina to be far more knowledgeable and accomplished without automatically turning into a Mary Sue. Continue reading →

Book summary from Goodreads, cause I’m lazy, and because it covers all the pertinent points:

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills. When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

I’ve been reading this series (this book being the third installment) due to my fondness for Mead’s series this was spun off of, the Vampire Academy books. These books follow Sydney Sage, an Alchemist who helps keep the existence of vampires secret from the human world, and deals with cleaning up any situations caused by the vampires.

The first book, Bloodlines, didn’t have me reeled in at first, especially with Sydney being so different from kick-ass Rose. However, the second installment, The GoldenLily, improved upon the first greatly, and this book has finally pulled me in, full tilt. I won’t get into the plot too much, so as not to spoil the previous books, but Sydney has started to question the motivations of the organization she works for, and is torn between loyalty and duty versus doing what is right. She sets out to find out more about an Alchemist named Marcus who broke out of his role as an Alchemist. In addition to this, Sydney has been dabbling in learning magic with her teacher Ms. Terwilliger and now Ms. Terwilliger has tasked her with a big task: helping to track down and stop a witch that is killing young girls to keep her own youth. Add this to her regular duties of keep Jill, the princess’s sister safe, and a complicated love life, and she has a lot to contend with.

Mead always has a lot of action going on in her books and she has really ramped it up from the first two books here, and I have to say I like it. I like it a lot. This series also carried over my favorite character, Adrian, from the Vampire Academy series and he is delightfully front and center in this book as well. I won’t say much more – if you have read Mead’s other books or need a fun, slightly soap opera-y series, this isn’t a bad way to spend your time. Not bad at all.

Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead is not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination. It’s a well-written urban fantasy with a strong voice and interesting premise. It just has a really big flaw that seriously detracts from the enjoyment factor.

Georgina Kincaid is a succubus living in Seattle. She works at a bookstore for fun and tries to get out of performing her life-sucking duties as much as possible. After being mocked for doing an embarrassing favor for an imp, any immortal who crosses her is found dead. Georgina has also met two interesting mortal men who are vying for her attention. One is Roman, a handsome man she pulled into her life to get out of a sticky situation at the bookstore. The other is Seth, her favorite living fiction author who is relocating to Seattle. Georgina tries to keep them away while investigating the crimes against other immortals.